Chess
by Lara1221
Summary: A simple game, a horrible time and place, and lots of unspoken words and palpable love. / Inspired by 'you are in love' by taylor swift [VoldemortWins!AU] [Is NOT part of my extensive, consistent canon timeline]


**Disclaimer:** anything you recognize (all of it) isn't mine

 **A/N:** so as you all know, i'm pretty much a gigantic canonhead. all of my stories exist in the same - canon - timeline. i like to read noncanon occasionally, but i've never written it. this round of QL was a VoldemortWins!AU. needless to say, it was a huge challenge. that being said, I do like how it turned out quite a lot and it makes me really sad but it's all good cause we all know harry defeated voldemort anyway ;) i also had a taylor swift song for one of my optional prompts this time, and i used little bits and pieces of the whole song so it was difficult to pinpoint which lyrics to put at the top of this page. so if you know the song, you'll probably pick up on things. the song, as a whole, basically inspired the piece. like...the mood of it I guess you would say? honestly reading it this will all make sense i promise haha. anyway, hope you enjoy it! **written for:**

 **QLs4r8: voldemortwins!AU: catapults' beater 1:** life one week after he won, prompts - 1. (word) allegiance, 14. 'you are in love' by taylor swift, 15. (dialogue) "well played, voldy" **; cinema comp ii: love, actually:** write a romance **; social media comp: snapstreak:** write your OTP **;**

* * *

 _You kissed on sidewalks_  
 _You fight and you talk_  
 _One night he wakes, strange look on his face_  
 _Pauses, then says, you're my best friend_  
 _And you knew what it was, he is in love_

 _You can hear it in the silence, silence, you_  
 _You can feel it on the way home, way home, you_  
 _You can see it with the lights out, lights out_  
 _You are in love, true love_

You Are In Love, Taylor Swift

* * *

Chess

Hermione looked at him from across the room. His expression was hard, that hadn't changed in what seemed like a year, but his eyes told a different story. They softened at the sight of her but were still broken and defeated. Her feet carried her to where he sat before she could even think about it.

Most everyone that she passed was asleep: classmates, friends, professors. It was anyone who had survived and still wanted to fight—or didn't have the option of not fighting. Bill and Charlie were whispering back in a corner, Kingsley was downing his late-night sorrows in a flask, and Cho was silently writing. Hermione couldn't possibly know why, or to whom.

They didn't stay in one place for more than two nights, and they all moved together. They tried to strategize and plan, but the wounds from the Battle were still very fresh, and not many could make it through the day. The death toll had continued to rise before they all retreated to the Hog's Head, gathering as many survivors in one group as they could before getting on the move. They swore allegiance to one another, but it was messy and sad.

Her heart ached as she thought of the person missing from their caravan, and from their fight. He wasn't going to be rolling in his sleep as he usually did, or wake up to make Hermione laugh, rally everyone together and declare that he was irrationally ready to sacrifice himself for the cause because he didn't need any of them to die for him. That sacrifice had come and gone, and although she had Ron and Ron had her, she sure that hole in her heart would be empty for quite some time.

Ron sat on the edge of his cot, his bowed head pulled down by arms resting on spread legs. Although they had made eye contact not moments ago, he jumped when he felt her come close enough, pulling his head back before calming, and reached out to take her hand.

Hermione wanted to focus on the warmth she felt between her fingers, the buzz of her nerves, and the flutter of her heart.

But there were more important things.

Ron moved aside to let her sit, pulling her down as he did so. She leaned into him, closed her eyes, and sighed, feeling as if she could sit here forever and ignore the world around them. She wondered if he had anything to say, or truly just wanted her to be here. The thought made her feel as light as a feather.

The silence stretched on, and Hermione thought about why she had come to sit with Ron in the first place. She wanted to be there for him, maybe even take his mind off things. She palmed her beaded bag, thinking quickly.

"Ron," she whispered. "Do you…do you want to play chess?"

"You want to play chess with me?" She could hear the tinge of surprise in his voice, and restrained a laugh at his expression she peeked up to see: clear, wide eyes and raised eyebrows.

"I like chess," said Hermione, rather defensively.

"You don't like to lose," Ron teased quietly.

Hermione gave a slight smile. "Let's just see how it goes."

She put some space between them on the cot and pulled out Ron's beaten chess set from the bag, placing it in the middle. She picked the black pieces and waited as Ron made his move, and then she made hers. Hermione watched, fascinated as usual, at the way his eyes dashed across the chessboard with each motion. She could practically see him running the options and outcomes in his head. She imagined it was the same expression she made when pouring over a book.

Hermione looked down at the board, letting herself subconsciously play the game and shutting her mind down. She thought she deserved that, once in a while. It was minutes later when he noticed she was in check. How did that happen? She made her move and waited. Another game lost. But Ron wasn't moving his piece. Hermione looked up; Ron was looking at her.

His voice broke as he spoke. "I'm happy we can do this together."

Hermione swallowed a lump in her throat. She reached out and grabbed his hand, relishing in that familiar warmth. "It's the best part."

"And that we can fight together. And finish this together. I don't know what I would do if you were off by yourself, working silently without any help. Merlin, you have no idea how bloody sick the thought makes me."

Hermione wanted to leap between them, wrap her arms around him, and stay there until they could forget that Harry was dead, kill Voldemort, mourn the fallen, and win their War.

Instead, she placed the chess set on the floor and scooted closer, taking hold of his other hand and wrapping him up in a hug. When there was no space between them, he took a shuddering breath. "Thank you for being the best friend I'll ever have. The way I acted last year… you deserve better."

Hermione shook her head against his shoulder, wiping her few tears away in the process. "Don't apologize. If I had to go through this with anyone, I would want to go through it with you." She let Ron hold her there, crying into his shoulder. "I want this to end, Ron."

Ron let her cry for a moment before pulling back, an idea quickly coming to him. He brought the chess set onto his lap, maneuvering her pieces so until she had put him in check as well. "Well played, Voldy," he said, a hint of humor coming through. Hermione felt herself smile, in spite of everything.

Then, he went back to his pieces and quickly maneuvered until her King was cornered. Ron grinned. "Checkmate."

He knocked the white king to the board with a thud.


End file.
